


G is for Gold

by BrandybuckPuck



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-07
Updated: 2015-10-07
Packaged: 2018-04-25 09:03:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4954462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrandybuckPuck/pseuds/BrandybuckPuck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the Bagginshield Alphabet<br/>The gold clouded everything, the gold was his heart beating loudly in his chest, it was his breath, spiraling into tendrils in front of him, the gold was everything and it was his.</p>
            </blockquote>





	G is for Gold

The gold was all-consuming. It was everywhere. The treasury floor was piled with priceless gems, trinkets, and gold surpassing comprehension. It laid out before him like an endless sea, beckoning him into the depths. The gold clouded everything, the gold was his heart beating loudly in his chest, it was his breath, spiraling into tendrils in front of him, the gold was everything, _everything_.

The door opened behind him and Thorin turned to see Bilbo, so small besides the towers of riches. His clothes were dark and dreary, an unpleasant contrast to the opulence and light that surrounded him. 

But in the glowing light of the torch he carried, his hair was a color equal to the richest gold. In his eyes, the gold around him was reflected, sparkling endlessly. 

But the hobbit’s face was a mask of worry, such sweet worry.  


_He shouldn’t worry. He is my treasure. He is protected. He will not be harmed. None of this will be taken from me.  
_

_Keep him here. Safe where he belongs, on a bed of gold, dressed in diamonds and sapphires. Lock him in. If the men and the elves see him they will covet him with the rest of the gold. He cannot leave._

Thorin stretched out a hand, ghosting over Bilbo’s hair, down to his neck. Gold… gold and fear in his eyes.

 _Protect the treasure._  
There was something roaring in Thorin’s ears, a voice in his head railing against the lust for gold, trying to reach out to Bilbo.  
Bilbo took a half a step forward, seeming to have sensed the shift in Thorin’s demeanor. But the torch blazed in his movement, and the light flooded across Bilbo’s figure, casting him in a warm, gold glow.

The darkness returned to his mind and the only light was the gold. He must protect his treasure, all of it.

He swept out the door, pushing it shut behind him. He heard, at the last moment, Bilbo’s scream as the torch dropped, and the room was engulfed in gold and fire.  
But fire was his defense. Now the treasure would be impossible to steal. Now it was safe, all of it. His, all his. Through the door he could still hear Bilbo's screams, morphing into the screams and cries of his sister and sister son’s, of the company, and of all his people. But the ringing of the gold, a strange lullaby, drowned them all. 

In the darkness, there was only gold.

Thorin bolted up, sweat dripping from his brow. There was darkness and his heart lurched painfully, thudding loudly and too fast. He frantically searched around for something anything. He tried to move his legs but they were tangled in something and he reached down to free them, only to find that they were tangled in nothing more than his sheets.  
He glanced around him. He was in his bed. Moonlight streamed in from the only window of the vaulted ceiling. He could see the furniture of his him room in the Royal Chambers. Beside him lay Bilbo, soft and still in sleep. 

Thorin blinked and then buried his face in his hands, muffling his cries. His terror mingling with the relief of it having been only a dream. Or was it a memory? The screams had been too real, the weight of the gold in his mind a distant familiarity. If this was to be his penance, then so be it. Reliving the days he had been so lost in the treasure, trying to crawl out of his own mind. He would pay that price, as Bilbo slept peacefully beside him, half sprawled onto Thorin’s side. His people lived and his kingdom survived. He had not sent them all to an inferno of gold and fire. He had a lifetime to reconcile his actions with the deeds of a king worthy of his people, an uncle worthy of his nephew’s pride, a brother worthy of his sister’s smiles, and husband worthy of his One’s love. 

He curled back down beside Bilbo, watching his features in the moonlight, the rise and fall of his shoulders with the deep easy breaths of sleep. Thorin traced his cheek and jaw, moving slowly against his skin, careful not to wake him. As sleep pulled at him again, he buried his nose in Bilbo’s curls, pale in the moonlight, breathing in his warmth. More precious to him than treasure, but never to be locked behind doors. 

His One was safe in his arms, and that shone more brightly in his heart than gold ever could.


End file.
